a passion for the health benefits of creativity
Kathy McNeil’s background as a registered nurse for 35 years has shaped her approach and goals when teaching quilting classes. “I feel it is my job as a teacher to provide a playground for students
Kathy's younger students
to learn, be inspired and nurtured while trying on new skills and having fun.” She says that her passion for the health benefits of creativity and events from her life inspire her pictorial quilted paintings.
Kathy loves traveling and teaching nationally about the creative process. She exhibits widely in international competition and has won many awards. Her quilts are frequently featured in museums, magazines, calendars and the AQS website. Kathy is a nationally ranked quilt instructor and lecturer. Many of her quilts are in private collections.When you visit Kathy’s website you will see a well designed user friendly design. The navigation bullets are efficient. The pages are well structured with rich content. You find exactly what you want to know. Kathy’s descriptions of her courses and products for sale such as posters, note cards and patterns provide all the necessary details.
gone fishin', best of show, 2007 Pacific Intl. Quilt Show
much ado about nothing, © 2007, Kathy McNeil
In her classes, Kathy teaches her students how to better understand basic design principals to build confidence so they may create their own traditional, contemporary and pictorial compositions. Students learn to manipulate fabrics with inks, paint, overlay and discharge to suggest shading on pictorial objects.
A FAQ page is a brilliant addition for any website; listen to what Kathy has to say to one’s viewer’s perception of the playfulness Kathy conveys in each artwork:
Your quilts have a lot of detail and wonderful surprises to catch the viewer’s eye. Can you explain the process you go through when designing one of your quilts?
“Hiding little details for viewers to discover is like a game to me. It helps wile away the 400-800 hours I spend on making each quilt. Design is one of my favorite classes to teach. After factoring in basic design principles, it is all about the story telling for me. I start making my major characters first. (Most people start in the background first.) Then I think about the supporting cast or landscape accents. After I have all of these free objects made, I begin appliqueing small sections together. This is the same approach most piecers take when attaching one block to another.”
Heron Happiness
Please take a visit to Kathy’s site. See these amazing quilts that require 400-800 hours to complete! Your comments will be forwarded to Kathy.
very beautiful